Ridley Scott makes new movies faster than you change underpants. And these aren’t little indies knocked out on weekends. With his big biblical epic “Exodus: Gods And Kings” headed to theaters by the end of the year, he’ll spend the fall switching gears entirely, making the sci-fi “The Martian.” Matt Damon will star, and probably Jessica Chastain and Kristen Wiig (though the trades can’t decide if they are in the movie, out of the movie or still tentative). And now another actress is perusing a contract.

“House Of Cards” and “The Fantastic Four” star Kate Mara has been offered a role in the movie, and….that’s the only news there is. No details on the part. The project is sounds promising, centering on a stranded astronaut on Mars, who must figure out a way to get back home to Earth. It has a script by Drew Goddard, based on the book by Andy Weir, and it’ll open in theaters on November 25, 2015.

Meanwhile, one name you’re likely to hear a lot over the next few months is Katherine Waterston. The actress is already generating buzz for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s upcoming “Inherent Vice,” and as such, she’s got projects coming her way. Waterston has joined Alex Ross Perry‘s “Queen Of Earth.” She replaces Michelle Dockery in the movie, also starring Elisabeth Moss, about “two friends who steal away to a beach house for a vacation. Although they grew up as best friends, they soon realize how disconnected from each other they have become, allowing their suspicions to bleed into reality.” Cameras are now rolling. [Deadline/THR]